Color Wheel
by Sock and Broh
Summary: As many people as there are in the world, there are colors. Watch as four young teens find their way in life - and discover what is truly important when your back's against the wall, and everything starts to come apart at the seams. A novelization of Pokemon Black.


Color Wheel

_a collection of colors and their associations to the world, written by Sock and Broh_

* * *

Color Wheel Universe:

**Color Wheel**

Past Artifice

Sentimentality

_It Was Destiny_

* * *

Orange

_Beginnings_

* * *

Slats of sunlight through the blinds fell over sealed eyes, tumbling through the darkness blotting out the brain. A groan of displeasure rose from thin shut lips, unaccustomed to the morning greeting. It was a soft groan, with a flat soprano note and a sharp scratch when irritated. Feminine like a movie star from the old television movies and musicals, cheerful like Julie Andrews or sharp like Madeline Kahn. Never used this early, it was strained and raspy, despite the crisp tones fitting so well with the chirps and trills of Pidoves flocking outside for their morning meals.

As more light flooded through the blinds, a soft yawn – expulsion of excess air that puffed out her chest – rose up to mingle with the forgotten notes still lingering hopefully for attention near the ceiling rafters. The soprano rose to meet her greeting, however annoyed she was with it. Her feet met cold hardwood flooring, searched for some time for the familiar feel of carpet she knew was purple, and when met with this old friend, took a leaping bound that her mother was more accustomed to hearing far later in the day.

She skipped from warm spot to warm spot until she reached the hallway, where she had no choice but to forego her discrepancies about cold flooring despite the season, and calmly walked (with her unrefined, long-legged gait) to the door on her immediate right. Careful to make sure the door was locked, she took up her morning habits within thirty minutes, pleased at her record time.

Normally she would return to her own room, but the door just across the hallway from the bathroom was sealed shut – something she knew was not normal even in the household.

So, as a very curious being with time to kill, she opened her brother's bedroom door and grinned at his dreaming form swathed in blue sheets across the floor. She snatched up the digital camera she knew her brother kept on his bookshelf closest to the door and stepped carefully to his side, where she then laid down next to him on his bed. Her grin, in the photograph she snapped, could speak yards of how difficult it was for her to contain her laughter. The camera was returned to its previous resting place on her way out, and her brother continued to sleep, sprawled out and tangled in sheets, gripping desperately at nothing that was there.

She returned to her room, where the rest of her morning routines were conducted, and set about gathering things she was supposed to have gathered the night before. Most items were shoved hastily into a pink messenger bag – a pair of jeans, several pairs of socks, a light black jacket, a white hoodie – while others were handled with greater care, placed in certain pockets and zippered up in sequential order. Then, she set about dressing herself. This was never very difficult for her, admittedly – she was a fairly simple girl, with little care for fashion or celebrity. She wore time-ripped shorts and sturdy boots on her legs and feet, and to suit the warmer weather, a white tank top and a black vest.

Her final stop was at the vanity she owned since she was three. Back then, when her father had first purchased the antique, she had to climb up on the little velvet-seated stool that had come with it in order to view her appearance in the mirror. Now she simply had to sit down in order to do so. A long-haired brunette stared back at her, thin-faced and fair-skinned, with the only truly striking feature being the cold blue eyes winking in the morning light streaming weakly through the blinds. She was a bit too bony, with barely any curve to speak of. If someone wasn't looking for her, she could blend in with a crowd easily. Her wavy brown hair was tied up with a black elastic band, and fitted through the back of a white and pink ball cap. An old hat her father bought her at a baseball game several years ago. That had been the last time she'd seen him. She grinned as she tapped the brim, before pushing off the stool and flouncing down the stairs, pink bag left lying in the middle of her room.

"Hi, mom!" Touko called at the bottom of the staircase, still grinning widely. "Is breakfast ready? I'm _starving_."

The gentle laugh of her mother always warmed Touko's heart. She would miss the sound dearly over the next few months. "Almost. But you know the rule – we don't eat without your brother!"

Touko groaned loudly as she flopped into her chair. "C'mon! For once, _I'm_ up first, and I have to wait for Touya?"

"He always waits for you, dear," her mother reminded with a slight inflection of disapproval. "Give him some time."

She didn't want to give Touya any time – not really, anyway. He was apt to take everything Touko was thankful for as an irritant, or a thorn in his side. This was perhaps the only thing that prevented her from completely getting along with her brother. Or maybe it was that invisible separation between the two – a small divide that Touya dug by hand, where he housed all those unspoken secrets. Touko didn't understand him sometimes. Though she knew her mother would scold her for saying it, Touko muttered her thoughts anyway. "He's had a whole year to prepare for today. Don't you think that's enough time?"

Luckily, her mother only bothered with a glare.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Touya yawned as he tumbled down the stairs noisily, his voice thick and syrupy. He always had a luxurious way of speaking that made Touko think of him lounging in a bubble bath, flipping through his weird magazines that he was always raving about with Bianca. "I didn't sleep much last night, so I ignored my alarm this morning."

Touko snorted. "Nightmares?"

As he sat down across from her (crossing his legs with an air of self-importance), Touko's older brother glared. "You're _so_ funny, Touko. I can barely _contain_ my laughter."

"I'm a regular comedic, I know." She squared her shoulders, grinning back at his ire.

Her brother's silent treatment gave Touko enough time to examine his outfit. It was unusually simple for him – the resentment he felt in wearing it was obvious – as most of the time a casual outfit consisted of a cardigan and rolled up vintage indigo jeans. Today, though, he wore dark cargo pants and a baby blue hoodie. His quirky, mousy brown hair was mostly hidden underneath a baseball cap Touko recognized as a gift from her father.

"Breakfast, my dears," their mother sang as she placed plates of pancakes and orange halves down on the table. The doorbell rang, and she danced away with a backward call of, "and please don't kill each other while I'm gone."

Touko pulled a plate of pancakes to herself and dug in, rolling her eyes as her brother settled for a small plate upon which an orange half rested. He always had such light meals!

"_Hello, Misses Argyris! I've brought the Pokémon. Should I bring them inside?"_

"_Oh, no, Professor – I'll just bring them in myself. You have a lot to finish up at the lab, don't you?"_

She craned her neck, attempting to get a better view of the box being passed between the two women. It was hard to even hear them. They had begun to speak more quietly to one another.

"_About Touya…does he even want…?"_

"_He's adamant that…but I think…takes it a step at a time…what's your opinion?"_

"_It could be…learning experience…so I'm…give it a try, hm?"_

Touya kicked her leg.

"Ouch!" She whipped around to glare at her brother. "What was that for?"

"Eavesdropping. Don't be so nosy, Touko!"

Touko was about to kick him back, but she heard her mother thanking and wishing the Professor well. The sound of the door shutting was definite. Her adrenaline pumped at the thought of her first Pokémon being inside the house. From the corner of her eye, she spied Touya's expression, which spoke only of annoyance. The perfect foil to her excitement was her brother's reflection of his thought: _what a nuisance_.

Their mother returned with a camera, and called in her ever-effervescent voice, "_smile_!"

Knowing it was best not to argue about pictures, the two siblings did as they were told.

"Here, Touya – don't forget your camera! I know how you like pictures." She put the device down in front of her son, which he instantly swept up and pocketed.

"So can I go get my Pokémon now?" Touko tapped her foot impatiently. "Please, mom?"

Her mother only sat down on either side of her children, and began to eat her own breakfast. With a shake of her head, Touko deflated. "Be patient, sweetheart. At least wait for Cheren before you go upstairs."

Touko thought it best to at least finish her breakfast, then. Touya continually pointed to spots on her face and said, "You have some syrup, right there, Touko." while making faces like he was disgusted with her eating habits.

As soon as the doorbell rang, Touko pushed herself out of her chair and rushed up the steps with a call of "Tell Cheren I'm up here, 'kay?" She nearly tripped up the stairs, she was so excited!

The colorfully-wrapped box lay in wait like her bag did.

* * *

Cheren let himself in, nodded at Touya. "Where's Touko?"

"Upstairs staring at that box, no doubt," the brunet snorted. His sleeves were rolled up as he washed his sister's dishes in the kitchen sink. _Ungrateful little brat_, he thought fondly. "Where's Bianca?"

"Late, probably." As usual, Cheren couldn't keep an ounce of annoyance from his voice. He was absolutely horrid at hiding his emotions, though they sometimes seemed few and far between – a small range. "But that's always the case." The black-haired teen headed toward the staircase, but on the first step he hesitated, turned about with a frown to look back at Touya. "You'll be up, won't you?"

Touya hesitated. His whole body froze up, even, in the middle of drying off some forks with a dish towel. "Um…nah. Just go up without me."

He hated how _disappointed_ Cheren looked. It reminded him of how much more disappointed Cheren could be.

"Suit yourself," his friend sighed, stepping carefully on each leveled plane leading upward.

Touya would remain below.

* * *

Touya was right.

As Cheren ascended the staircase and walked down the narrow hallway leading to Touko's room, he caught sight of her slender form, like a mannequin in a display window. He let himself in silently, as he always did whenever visiting the Argyris residence, and rolled his eyes at the sight that met him.

Touko really _was_ staring at that box.

He sidled up alongside Touko. "The Pokémon are in that box?"

Touko nodded. "Where's Bianca?"

"Touya asked me the same thing. Do you want me to answer that?" Cheren gave his friend a pointed look.

"Not really."

The teen tapped his foot impatiently. "Today's the day Professor Juniper's letting us have a Pokémon. What's keeping Bianca?"

* * *

Touya was just finishing putting the dishes away when Bianca tripped through their front door unannounced. She slammed it behind her on accident, fixed the way her cap was set on her head, and rushed up the staircase with a cry of, "_Hi Touya Misses Argyris so happy to see you but I'm gonna go upstairs now thanks for having me bye!"_

He shook his head and sighed. "That girl…."

"I think a Pokémon will do her well," his mother declared with a smile. "Maybe it'll give her some direction. Why don't you go upstairs and meet your new partner?"

"No thanks." Touya would have sat down, but his mother was standing in front of him.

His mother frowned, brows drawn together in an uncharacteristically serious expression. "Touya, I _know_ that you want to get out into the world and pursue your dreams, but at least _try_ to find something else? Professor Juniper is giving you that Pokémon specifically because I asked her to—"

"I know, mom," Touya snapped with a lilting whine. "But I really, _really_ need to do this. I'm thankful that you went through the trouble to get me a Pokémon, but I just don't want to be a Trainer like Cheren, Bianca and Touko. It's not for me."

"Well, at least – it'll be good to have a Pokémon for protection." She sighed, and patted his cheek with a relenting smile on her face. "I'm just saying, Touya. It might be good for you to try something else. You know…you know I'll always think you're the best performer ever, but I _do_ have to be realistic. It's not very often that a star gets to shine out there, honey."

Touya shut his eyes and forced his own smile – and he thought, _too wide, too fabricated. Too dull._ "I know. But I have to."

"You don't have to do anything unless you want to, Touya," his mother whispered, her eyes dark with disappointment. She pulled him into a warm hug and kissed the top of his head. "No matter what, you're always going to make me proud."

If she would have listened closely, she would have heard her son's small whisper, muffled by her shoulder. _"I wish I could really believe you, mom…"_

Above them, a very loud crash resounded, followed by the cries of Pokémon and Trainers alike. His mother laughed warmly as she released him from her hold.

"Now go on, sweetheart – it sounds like they're having a fantastic time without you up there!" She shooed him up the stairs, presumably to get back to tidying up the kitchen table.

Touko's room was the third door on the left down the upstairs hallway. Her door stood ajar slightly – just enough for Touya to see a bookcase knocked over and fear the worse. He pushed the door open and expected to see some sort of massacre, or bloodbath (Touya's imagination was wild and free-running to the point that Touko had banned him from watching psychological thrillers)….

"What the _hell_ happened in here?"

The room was a mess! Even Touko's bed had somehow gotten dirty and ruffled. House plants were knocked out of their pots, the television that her father had bought her was moved slightly forward on one corner, her dresser looked as if it were in shambles; the Wii looked alright, though.

Bianca gasped and turned around, her cheeks coloring a deep red. "U-Um! Well…"

"Bianca thought it would be a good idea to have a Pokémon battle indoors," Cheren explained with a sour expression.

"Tch! You didn't protest when Bianca suggested that _you_ battle, too," Touko pointed out as she tended to her Pokémon's injuries. The little thing was a white otter covered in soft, insulating aqua fur on its torso, with large brown eyes and an even larger seashell on its belly. His sister recalled the otter Pokémon back into her Pokéball with a soft smile.

Cheren glared at her, but otherwise said nothing else.

"I'm really sorry, Touya," Bianca apologized, her eyes wide and fearful. Touya wasn't surprised – Bianca was rather skittish around him at times, considering his tendency to have a sharp tongue. "Please don't be mad!"

Touya shrugged. "It's not _my_ room."

The blonde breathed a great sigh of relief.

"Mom sent me up here to get my Pokémon. Where is it?" Touya walked over to the box sitting on Touko's desk and examined it, before pulling off the lid and fishing out the Pokéball inside. He pocketed it in an instant.

There was a long silence, in which even the air paused to hold his breath.

"Well?" Bianca broke the silence, staring at him expectantly. When he looked to Cheren and Touko, they too were looking at him with the same sort of expectance.

Touya frowned, his brows knitting together. "What?"

"You're not going to let your Pokémon out to look at it?" Cheren made it sound as if it were some sort of scandal _not_ to!

"I figured I'd do that when I have to."

All three of them groaned, with Cheren being the loudest. "What's wrong with you?"

"Shh!" Touko scolded Cheren, no doubt recognizing the steady build-up of anger when she looked at her brother. She muttered something into her friend's ear that sounded suspiciously like: "_Don't get him angry, Cheren, or he'll be in a bad mood all day!"_

Touya scowled at her. "I _heard_ that, Touko."

His sister at least had the decency to smile sheepishly. "Um. Well! We should probably tell Mom about this mess—" Touko, Bianca and Cheren made to turn and exit the disaster area that was once his sister's room.

"Wait!"

"What is it?" Bianca asked timidly.

Touya pulled his camera out of his pocket and grinned. (And _no_, there definitely _wasn't_ anything malicious about it.) "Let's get a picture!"

* * *

Surprisingly, their mother had been very calm about the whole mess. She shooed Cheren and Bianca out of the house, before pulling her children into a collective family hug. "You're going to have such a wonderful time, you two!"

"I'll miss you too, Mom," Touko laughed as she extricated herself from the deathlike hold. She grinned at Touya's dry expression as he fixed his cap.

"Yeah. Me too." He mumbled.

"Oh, before I forget! Here are your Cross-Transceivers. Don't think you can get away with not calling me from time to time now!" Their mother pulled out two wristwatch-like devices and handed one to each of her children.

Touya smiled at the blue accents on his while he strapped it to his wrist. "Thanks, Mom."

"Did you _have_ to get mine in pink?" Touko asked, grimacing. "Not that I'm _not_ happy you bought me one, but I'd really prefer a nice purple."

"Sorry, sweetie, it was all they had."

She sighed, but let it go. "It's no big deal. Matches my bag and hat."

"Alright, then." Their mother smiled widely. "Have you seen your Pokémon yet, Touya?"

"No, and I don't really _want_ to." The brunet glared at his sister's traitorous grin.

"He says he won't look at it until he uses it!" Touko informed their mother. "What're you gonna do with this kid?"

In an instant, their mother was scowling. At him. _Again._ "_Touya_," she scolded, "you _know_ that if you won't _try_ to get along with your Pokémon that you're not going to make it all the way to Nimbasa, right? You can't just use a Pokémon as a tool like that!"

Touya sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Alright, alright! I'll try to _bond_ with it, if that'll make you happy!"

"This isn't about what makes _me_ happy, Touya – this is about what will ultimately make _you_ happy. If you can't treat a Pokémon properly, then you don't deserve to have one at all!" He couldn't handle how disappointed she looked with him. It made him sick to his stomach, just thinking that this was the _least_ of his concerns. How disappointed would she be when he finally let himself be honest with her? "It's a blessing, to have a Pokémon. They'll be your friends and lifelong partners as long as you treat them like that."

When she put it that way, maybe bonding with his Pokémon was a good thing, after all. He wouldn't ever have to be alone if he had a Pokémon by his side…but how could that be true? They were just _Pokémon._ He could only believe that humans made lasting bonds – Pokémon weren't _that_ intelligent, were they?

"Okay, Mom. I'll treat it well." He nodded his head.

Though she didn't look entirely convinced, their mother nodded her head and picked up her cheerful demeanor once again. "Good. You know, the easiest way to bond with a Pokémon is to give it a name," she hinted, before returning to the kitchen.

"_Owned!_" Touko exclaimed with a grin the moment she was sure their mother was gone.

"Go to hell, Touko," Touya snapped, extricating his Pokéball from his pocket. He let it sit in the palm of his hand and lifted it to eye level, staring curiously at the capsule device.

"It's not going to open on its own, Touya."

He sighed heavily. "I _know that_. I just – well, I don't really know what to expect!"

"That's the best part! It's a surprise for you!" Touko seemed more excited about the new Pokémon than her brother, who was actually _receiving_ it.

Working up the will to do so, Touya pressed the button in the center and watched his Pokémon materialize just a yard away. A green, snake-like creature with small arms and legs stared back at him with eerily large brown eyes.

"_Oh_." Touko looked disappointed. "It's just a Snivy. I thought it'd be something cooler, like…_not something I've seen before_."

The little Snivy took one long, deep look into Touya's eyes before he squeaked joyously and scurried over to hug his new Trainer's leg.

Touya stared down at the Pokémon for all of three seconds before he let his temper get the best of him. "What the hell?"

Touko giggled at the Snivy hugging her brother's leg. "Aw, he likes you already! I bet you're going to be a good Trainer, Touya!"

"I don't _want_ to be a Trainer!" Touya glared at his new Pokémon. "Can you stop that?"

If his Snivy heard, he didn't seem to care very much. He only clung tighter to Touya's leg.

"Ugh! I can't stand this already…"

"Be nice to the little guy, Touya – he _clearly_ wants in on this partnership more than you do."

Touya glared at his sister. "Hey, _I've_ got an idea – why don't you help me out here, considering all of _your_ experience with Pokémon?"

"Sure, I can try something," Touko shrugged, pulling out her own Pokéball and releasing the Oshawott inside. The instant Touya's Snivy noticed the new Pokémon; he unlatched himself from his Trainer's leg and ran over to converse rather cheerfully with Touko's Oshawott.

"That's just not fair," Touya muttered, arms crossed. "That's not fair at all."

Touko decided to ignore her prickly brother for just long enough to come up with an idea that would bother him more.

"Ooh! How about you name _my_ first Pokémon and I'll name _yours_!" Touko looked excited.

"_Or_, I could name _my_ Pokémon, and _you_ could name _yours_." Touya narrowed his eyes at his sister. "Why do you want to name mine so badly, anyway?"

Touko sighed at her brother. "Because I have the perfect name for a Snivy, but I can't come up with _anything_ for my Oshawott! Plus, it'll be fun!"

"Then don't nickname her," Touya suggested with a roll of his eyes. "She doesn't _have_ to have a nickname."

"Yes she does." Touko answered back.

"Ugh! _Fine_." Touya scrubbed his face vigorously with the palms of his hands. "Go ahead and name my Snivy. I'll name your Oshawott."

Touko clapped her hands in delight. "Thank you, Touya! You can go first."

Touya muttered a string of curses under his breath as he watched his sister's Oshawott converse with his Snivy. She seemed amicable and easygoing, much like his own sister – he had a feeling they would make a good team because of it. Nothing really came to mind, though, when he thought of possible names. A city, perhaps, would match her personality?

"Kyoto," Touya declared, nodding his head and smirking indulgently. "She looks like she'll make a good Kyoto."

Touko grinned widely at her brother. "I never would have thought of naming her that, Touya! How'd you come up with that?"

He shrugged, still a bit smug, and crossed his arms. "It just came to mind when I looked at her."

Touko turned her attention back to the two starters and giggled at their behavior. Touya's Snivy was certainly different than Cheren's – the black-haired boy's seemed rather severe and self-assured, while Touya's was just…strange. She beamed as she said the serpentine Pokémon's new name. "Ambersweet!"

"Ambersweet…?" Touya turned to glare at his sister. "No! What kind of name is Ambersweet?"

"A cute one."

"I am _not_ naming my Snivy _Ambersweet_!"

The newly-named Snivy, which had been hugging Touko's Oshawott around the middle, turned to his trainer and rushed up to cuddle his leg.

"Aw, look! He likes the name already," Touko cooed.

Touya sighed. "If you weren't my sister, Touko, I _swear_ to _all things sacred_—"

"Oh, calm down, Touya! Jeez, you can be so dramatic sometimes."

"Are you still here?" From the kitchen, their mother called, "Get going, you two! You don't want to keep Professor Juniper waiting!"

Recalling their Pokémon, brother and sister rushed through the front door, spring air imbuing each step taken away from the start line with the essence of life, no defined finish in sight.

* * *

Gaaaah…late post is (extremely) late. Sorry about that. Life grabs you by the shoulders and shakes you for all you're worth, and Sock and I were not exempt from this treatment. But, luckily for us, summer break is upon us, and we've got time aplenty to try and crank out our slightly-AU-at-this-point Color Wheel Universe! This is the main story, and we're really excited to start this.

Some official stuff to put here…_I'm_ posting the chapter, even though Sock worked mostly on it. We have some warnings to give for future chapters.

Rating: Definitely a T, and for good reason. There'll be some harsh language, and toward the end when _shit gets real_ there will be some very descriptive fights. We'll post warnings as to the content on a chapter-by-chapter basis. Most of the time, it should just be your basic cursing, if anything at all.

Pairings: Um. Hints of Ferriswheelshipping, slightest (and I mean the tiniest fraction possible) hint of one-sided Isshushipping in the first half, beginning stages of Dualrivalshipping, and finally hints of Beckett/Touya. Don't worry if you don't know who Beckett is – he is a legitimate character somewhere in Pokémon Black and White. If you can find him before his first appearance in _Color Wheel_, drop us a note or review and the first person to get it right will earn his or herself a little treat from yours truly. ;)


End file.
